Latest Catastrophe Headlines
All the headlines from our Catastrophe Topic Page, ordered by recency.
LA Neighbors See Different Post-Wildfire Rebuilding Options Due to Insurance Crisis
Feb 7 2025 // Before a wildfire ravaged their street in northwest Altadena, Louise Hamlin and Chris Wilson lived next door to each other in nearly identical houses. “I chose an old home in an old neighborhood because it has...
AM Best: Wildfires Intensifying California’s Property Insurance Troubles
Feb 6 2025 // Wildfires are intensifying the problems in California’s property insurance market, according to a new commentary from AM Best. Those problems include a major insurer pullback from California in the past year,...
Allstate Q4 Income Up 30% Despite High Hurricane-Related Losses
Feb 5 2025 // Allstate Corp. fourth quarter net income applicable to common shareholders increased 30% to about $1.9 billion, and the insurer finished 2024 with net income of $4.6 billion compared to a loss of $316 million the prior...
California Wildfire Losses: Net or Gross?
Feb 5 2025 // The insurance industry admittedly may not be as glamorous as high-tech, investment banking, advertising, or Hollywood. After all, consider that the most influential publication on what’s happening in property &...
USAA Becomes 3rd Insurer to Report $1B-Plus in Claims So Far for LA Wildfires
Feb 5 2025 // USAA has paid out more than $1 billion for the Los Angeles wildfires, making it the third insurer to report $1 billion or more in payouts for the destructive blazes that burned thousands of properties. The company, which...
Aon, Floodbase, Swiss Re Team on Parametric Storm Surge Solution for US Hurricane
Feb 5 2025 // Aon plc said it has launched a new parametric insurance solution designed to address and mitigate commercial losses from hurricane-related storm surge along the coast of the U.S. Developed with parametric flood insurance...
NC Governor Tests Lawmakers With Hurricane Helene Recovery Funding Request
Feb 5 2025 // RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein asked state legislators Monday to roughly double their spending so far on recovery from Hurricane Helene, warning that waiting will cause more business closings,...
LA Wildfire Losses Seen as High as $164 Billion, UCLA Says
Feb 5 2025 // Economic losses from the fires that tore through Los Angeles County in January range from $95 billion to $164 billion, according to a new report, potentially making the blazes the second-costliest natural disaster in U.S....
California Faces Mudslide Threat From Flooding Rains After Wildfires
Feb 4 2025 // Weeks after wildfires that killed at least 29 people and destroyed entire neighborhoods, Southern California is facing another extreme-weather threat: Too much rain. After drenching the northern part of the state, a...
North Carolina Officials Issue Urgent Plea for More Hurricane Recovery Funds
Feb 4 2025 // North Carolina officials charged with leading recovery efforts in western North Carolina after Hurricane Helene — as well as parts of eastern North Carolina still struggling from previous hurricanes — told state...
State Farm Seeking Interim 22% Rate Hike for Homeowners in Wake of LA Wildfires
Feb 3 2025 // State Farm General said on Monday it is asking the California Department of Insurance to immediately approve interim rate increases, including 22% average for homeowners. The carrier, the state’s top homeowners...
Amid Clean up From LA Wildfires, Some Residents Furious Over Hazardous Waste
Feb 3 2025 // Not far from where Ceci Carroll lives, a rock-mining company has polluted the air with dust across the San Gabriel Valley, she said. Now, as crews clean charred remains from the Los Angeles wildfires, she worries about a...
Property-Catastrophe Reinsurance Rates Will Stop Dropping Post Wildfires: Execs
Feb 3 2025 // RenaissanceRe expects to incur about $750 million in losses from the January 2025 California wildfires—and anticipates that industrywide impacts should halt the drop in property-catastrophe reinsurance prices observed at...
Hawaii Wildfire Victims Spared From Testifying After Deal Over $4B Settlement
Jan 31 2025 // Lawyers representing victims of a deadly Hawaii wildfire reached a last-minute deal averting a trial that was scheduled to begin Wednesday over how to split a $4 billion settlement. The agreement means victims and...
Insurance Payouts at $4 Billion and Counting for LA Wildfires
Jan 30 2025 // Preliminary data show insurance companies have paid out more than $4 billion for losses from the biggest two of the Los Angeles-area wildfires that swept through the region and destroyed tens of thousands of homes earlier...
Earthquake in Maine Rattles Houses, Nerves Across Northeast
Jan 28 2025 // A 3.8-magnitude earthquake centered near the southern Maine coast rattled houses in northern New England on Monday and was felt by surprised residents of states hundreds of miles away. The earthquake took place at about...
Southern California Edison: Details on Transmission Lines in Eaton Amid Wildfire Probe
Jan 28 2025 // Southern California Edison, a unit of utility Edison International, said on Monday preliminary analysis of data showed a “momentary and expected increase in current” on its energized lines in the Eaton Canyon...
LA Wildfires by the Numbers: Insured Losses, Total Losses, Ratings, Rates
Jan 24 2025 // The impact of the historic Los Angeles-area wildfires is being broadly examined and continually refined, with updates almost daily on insured losses, total economic losses and damages, credit ratings—and lately worrying...
Insurance Commissioner Orders Advance Payments on Claims for LA Wildfire Survivors
Jan 23 2025 // California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara is asking all California insurance companies to provide advance payments on claims for Los Angeles wildfire survivors. Lara’s order is designed to help speed the...
Moody’s Expects LA Wildfires to Increase Property Insurance Costs Across State
Jan 23 2025 // Moody’s Ratings said in a report on Thursday that it expects the Los Angeles wildfires to increase property insurance costs across California. According to Moody’s, the state’s already noticeable...
